Search and Marketing Musings

by Melissa Byleveld

Dodging algorithms: Is de-optimisation a thing now?

Heard of the “Roneyrona”? When creating content for the web, often the entire point is to build association with a popular topic so your page might show up in related searches. But what happens when that topic is under heavy surveillance and subject to special treatment? It turns out, you make up a new obscure language that means nothing to the algorithm.

Using a search query to direct traffic to your site – smart or optimistic?

Ever seen an ad in a magazine or on the tube suggesting: “just Google us”? Knowing the crazy world of variables they’re subjecting their marketing spend to, this feels like sheer madness – the equivalent of saying: “You don’t need to know our location to find our store, just look for the busiest shop on the high street”. Bonkers! Or, could it be a gutsy but smart self-fulfilling prophecy?